today, we had numerous discussions regarding best picture, lead actor, lead actress, actor in a supporting role, and actress in a supporting role. But, we never really touched on Best Original Screenplay. Quentin Tarantino won the award for his original spcreenplay for his film Django Unchained, and even though I love Django Unchained as well as Tarantino's work as a whole, I feel that Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom should have won Best Original Screenplay. Now, I am definitely not saying that Wes Anderson is a better writer/director than Quentin Tarantino, but I feel that Anderson's film was snubbed at the Oscars because of its low profile and the lack of controversy surrounding it. I believe that both Moonrise Kingdom and Django Unchained were probably the best films of the year and, honestly, I cannot choose a winner between the two. But when it comes down to the screenplay, they should have just let Anderson have it. He deserved it, especially for this most recent effort. Moonrise Kingdom is what I would call Anderson's "mainstream masterpiece". Now, I have absolutely loved most of his previous films (with Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums tied as my favorites), but I feel that at some level, they were hard for the average modern moviegoer to connect with because they were quirky and stemmed from what Anderson (an intellectual filmmaker, more interested in his movies than in what kind of movies the audiences want) finds funny and interesting. By no means am I calling Anderson "weird" or " stuck up" in any way, but he is different. Quentin Tarantino is different too, but Anderson seems to take influence from the quirky comedies of the late '60s through the mid '70s, like the early films of Mike Nichols (most notably, The Graduate) and Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude and Being There, and from the writings of JD Salinger. He also seems to channel the French New Wave (Breathless, Truffaut, Pierrot Le Fou, and Louis Malle) as well as the classic fiction of JD Salinger and the character development of Martin Scorsese. He seems to blend these influences into his works, in a collage of film, with his original story surrounded in the tropes and homages to his influences. Quentin Tarantino has more diverse influences including martial arts films, Grindhouse films, beach films, spaghetti westerns, slasher movies, and blaxploitation films like Shaft. There is nothing wrong with this. I really like his movies. But in Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson created a relatable film, not just for boy scouts or orphans or his fans, but for everyone. And that is what make shim deserve the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. But, I get it: He is not flashy like Tarantino, and he does not draw the same type of controversy. In the end, it was a popularity or hype contest, and Tarantino won.
I know classmates agree with me because even before the Academy Awards, a fellow classmate and I were discussing how great of a film Moonrise Kingdom was. He also enjoyed Django Unchained just as much as I have, but saw that Anderson deserved the Oscar. I feel that many can attest to this fact, including some major players in the Academy. But Tarantino has connections too, and I know taht Bill Condon (Governor of the Writing Division of the Academy) would not want Tarantino's next film to be about the realtionships between starlets and middle-aged male directors. By the way, Bill Condon directed Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, starring Kristen Stewart, who has becoem famous recently for her relationship with director Rupert Sanders of Snow White and the Huntsman. And Quentin Tarantino has the power to investigate into the Kazan family dynasty, to which Robin Swicord (Governor of the Writing Division of the Academy) belongs. I can just imagine Tarantino's next films if Wes Anderson had won the Oscar: The Visitor Off the Boat, the story of Elia Kazan's illegal entry into the United States, and Twilight in Tinseltown, the story of Kristen Stewart and her many, many "friends". Some say a great filmmaker like Tarantino would never do something like that, but may I remind you of a little film called Citizen Kane, whose protagonist shares a strikingly similar life to William Randolph Hearst. ANd Tarantino could get some help from his friend Michael Moore, who I hear is already working on an investigation into immigration. Anderson just can't threaten executives like Tarantino can.
Academy Awards 2013 Reflection
today, we had numerous discussions regarding best picture, lead actor, lead actress, actor in a supporting role, and actress in a supporting role. But, we never really touched on Best Original Screenplay. Quentin Tarantino won the award for his original spcreenplay for his film Django Unchained, and even though I love Django Unchained as well as Tarantino's work as a whole, I feel that Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom should have won Best Original Screenplay. Now, I am definitely not saying that Wes Anderson is a better writer/director than Quentin Tarantino, but I feel that Anderson's film was snubbed at the Oscars because of its low profile and the lack of controversy surrounding it. I believe that both Moonrise Kingdom and Django Unchained were probably the best films of the year and, honestly, I cannot choose a winner between the two. But when it comes down to the screenplay, they should have just let Anderson have it. He deserved it, especially for this most recent effort. Moonrise Kingdom is what I would call Anderson's "mainstream masterpiece". Now, I have absolutely loved most of his previous films (with Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums tied as my favorites), but I feel that at some level, they were hard for the average modern moviegoer to connect with because they were quirky and stemmed from what Anderson (an intellectual filmmaker, more interested in his movies than in what kind of movies the audiences want) finds funny and interesting. By no means am I calling Anderson "weird" or " stuck up" in any way, but he is different. Quentin Tarantino is different too, but Anderson seems to take influence from the quirky comedies of the late '60s through the mid '70s, like the early films of Mike Nichols (most notably, The Graduate) and Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude and Being There, and from the writings of JD Salinger. He also seems to channel the French New Wave (Breathless, Truffaut, Pierrot Le Fou, and Louis Malle) as well as the classic fiction of JD Salinger and the character development of Martin Scorsese. He seems to blend these influences into his works, in a collage of film, with his original story surrounded in the tropes and homages to his influences. Quentin Tarantino has more diverse influences including martial arts films, Grindhouse films, beach films, spaghetti westerns, slasher movies, and blaxploitation films like Shaft. There is nothing wrong with this. I really like his movies. But in Moonrise Kingdom, Anderson created a relatable film, not just for boy scouts or orphans or his fans, but for everyone. And that is what make shim deserve the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. But, I get it: He is not flashy like Tarantino, and he does not draw the same type of controversy. In the end, it was a popularity or hype contest, and Tarantino won.
I know classmates agree with me because even before the Academy Awards, a fellow classmate and I were discussing how great of a film Moonrise Kingdom was. He also enjoyed Django Unchained just as much as I have, but saw that Anderson deserved the Oscar. I feel that many can attest to this fact, including some major players in the Academy. But Tarantino has connections too, and I know taht Bill Condon (Governor of the Writing Division of the Academy) would not want Tarantino's next film to be about the realtionships between starlets and middle-aged male directors. By the way, Bill Condon directed Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2, starring Kristen Stewart, who has becoem famous recently for her relationship with director Rupert Sanders of Snow White and the Huntsman. And Quentin Tarantino has the power to investigate into the Kazan family dynasty, to which Robin Swicord (Governor of the Writing Division of the Academy) belongs. I can just imagine Tarantino's next films if Wes Anderson had won the Oscar: The Visitor Off the Boat, the story of Elia Kazan's illegal entry into the United States, and Twilight in Tinseltown, the story of Kristen Stewart and her many, many "friends". Some say a great filmmaker like Tarantino would never do something like that, but may I remind you of a little film called Citizen Kane, whose protagonist shares a strikingly similar life to William Randolph Hearst. ANd Tarantino could get some help from his friend Michael Moore, who I hear is already working on an investigation into immigration. Anderson just can't threaten executives like Tarantino can.